After Last weeks frustrating Draw we knew there were a few things to work on to make sure that we could get a good result today.

The lads stepped into the County Cup for the first time in nearly 3 years and it was a good welcome back for the boys.

Lindfield were our opponents today and a team that play usually in the Horsham Division on a Saturday so not a team we have come across before.

We set up with a strong lineup as we didn't know what to expect. Freddie in goal, Charlie, Jack, Ethan and Blu across the back line. Cam & Stan central mid with Ellis out right and Alafy on the Left with Stephen and Liam finishing the lineup. Our bench was strong too with Praveen, Lewis and Lathir all ready to come on and make a difference.

The boys wanted to start strong and did exactly that. With less than 2 minutes on the clock we had the lead. Some good work down the left hand side put the ball at Stephen's feet who whipped in a high ball that Liam challenged and won. Liam knocked it into the path of Ellis who let rip with a brilliant half volley that cannoned off the bar back into the path of Stephen who reacted fastest and headed it into the back of the net. 1-0.

The fast start continued with our second not long after and this time came from a direct long ball over the top. Jack looked up and played a brilliant 40 yard ball into the path of Liam who took the ball in his stride and finished calmly into the back of the net. 2-0.

The next 20 minutes got a bit sloppy with both teams getting used to the pace of the game and Lindfield defending well in numbers & a few wayward shots for us.

After 20 minutes, Praveen came on for Ellis and Lewis came on for Stan in the middle.

We got our 3rd shortly before the 30 minute mark and this one came from the left hand side. Blu launched a long throw 20 yards down the pitch and Liam made a brilliant run across to win the ball, hold off the defender, turn them and then drive into the box before finishing again brilliantly into the bottom left corner. What i love about this goal is you can see the confidence our lads have in each other too as when Liam turned the defender and was through on goal, Blu already had his arms up celebrating! 3-0.

The game & shape got a bit lazy here as we had periods where we had 5 players in the front line and 5 in the back with basically no midfield so this was something that we spoke about at half time.

HT- TD - 3 - Lindfield - 0

At the half the boys were frustrated with themselves and were vocal about what needed to change in the second half & it was good to see them take the chance to speak and be honest about it. Yes we were winning but there are standards we set ourselves. Stan came back in for Cam and Ellis came on for Alafy while Lathir stepped into net for the second half.

We came out firing. Stephen drove forward and although he had a shot, it was closer to going in the neighbours window than the goal. From the resulting goalkick, Stephen, Liam and Ellis all pressed and Liam won the ball high, rounded the keeper and finished again from an incredibly tight angle for his Hat trick! 4-0

From kick off, Lindfield went long and we won the ball back in the LB position and Blu hit a peach of a ball over the top for Stephen to run onto. Stephen gave the defender 10 yards and still beat him to the ball, heading it into his path before driving towards the box and hitting a beaut of a finish over the keeper for 5-0.

We got our next goal not long after with some brilliant work from Liam & Ellis. Liam chased down and pressed the defender to make a poor clearance and Ellis working with him picked it up, held off his man and laid it back into the path of Blu. Blu dummied his marker before looking up and putting a beaut of a ball into the back post where Stephen lept over the defender and powered his header into the back of the net for his hat trick! 6-0

What a ten minutes and that rocked Lindfield. Alafy came back on for Liam and slotted in up top.

We got our next goal not long after with Blu sending another long throw down the line, Stephen turned his defender and drove down the wing to the byline before putting in a low cross to the back post for Alafy to calmly slot away a lovely finish. 7-0

At the 60 mark, Cam came on, this time at RM with Praveen stepping off for a quick rest. Cam was getting joy down the right and putting in some great crosses with both Stephen and Alafy coming close with Alafy hitting a great shot just off the post.

Our back 4 were having a brilliant game, snuffing out any chances and long balls heading their way. Gallon & Stan both working hard in the midfield. Lindfields keeper was pulling off some good stops as well, keeping out Cam and Blu with some top saves.

Lathir stayed alert and wanted to keep the clean sheet and pulled off a brilliant stop.

With 10 minutes to go, the boys stepped up the pressure again and Ethan came so close twice from back to back corners. The first one hitting the bar and the second one getting cleared off the line. It just felt like today wasn't going to be his day, or was it...........

Charlie had been putting in a shift at right back and battling through a knock from last weeks match. Praveen came in for the last few minutes and gave Charlie a breather. Liam had also come back on in the middle of midfield for Lewis.

Liam won us a corner with 4 minutes left and Ethan rose Highest and put it just wide with a header, you could tell he was hungry for a goal!

Liam got us another corner with 2 minutes left and this time Stan stepped up and whipped in a peach of a cross that Stephen jumped about 9 feet in the air and powered it into the back of the net for 8-0.

With less than a minute left of the game, it felt like it wasn't going to be Ethan's day despite him and the boys trying their best for him to get a goal, that is until..... Blu put a ball into the path of Stephen who was tripped right on the edge of the box, free kick, 20 yards out, centre of the goal. Who steps up? Blu, Stan and Ethan are all standing over the ball. Ethan steps up and BANG! Ethan hits a thunderbolt into the bottom left hand corner! 9-0 and ETHANS FIRST EVER TD GOAL! Incredible! Every single lad mobbed him as the final whistle was blown!

FT- TD - 9 - Lindfield - 0

What a performance from every single one of the lads today. They all worked so hard to create chance after chance and stepped up. To finish the month like that as well was brilliant.3 wins and a draw in their first 4 games together as a squad is just a credit to the lads for their hard work & determination.

MOTM - Stephen M-F - 4 goals and an assist from Stephen today who worked hard across the front line & Linked up well with the lads today.